Who is the best interior defender in the NBA? What metrics would you use to answer that question?

Those are the existential questions in the crosshairs of a recent Kirk Goldsberry and Eric Weiss study, entitled, "The Dwight Effect: A New Ensemble of Interior Defense Analytics for the NBA."

Like errors and fielding percentage in baseball, and interceptions in football, it's inaccurate to ascribe a basketball player's defensive value to the number of blocks or steals he compiles over a given season. The best defenders often don't have the opportunity to rack up these stats; their mere presence around the rim is enough to produce second-guesses among opposing ball handlers.